A Hundred Ways to Love
by october song
Summary: One hundred drabbles, one hundred ways to love. [Noze]
1. 001 beginnings

_Because you're fifteen and you're still watching Nickelodeon, this is… _

a hundred ways to love

* * *

prompt no. 001:

beginnings

They had met in pre-school, which was not very unusual. Children meet in preschool. What was unusual about the pair of them was that they remained friends forever after that, like is promised by endless groups of young friends. But they were unusual because they were truly "best friends forever" in every way, shape, and form. There was no way to separate them (as many learned), and there was no way that you would find one without the other.

Because that's how best friends work.

At four years old, the brown-eyed girl had met the blue-eyed boy and had decided that she liked him. She wasn't quite sure why, because there was nothing special about him. There were certainly boys that were taller than him, bigger than him, and obviously funnier than him, but the brown-eyed girl called Jennifer Moseley really didn't care about that at all. She didn't care that he was sitting alone in the sand box, without any friends. She didn't care that he wasn't laughing with the other boys. She really didn't care in the slightest about what anyone thought, either, when she sat down next to him and asked him his name in a straightforward manner.

He had looked rather take aback. His mother had told him not to talk to strangers, so he didn't. When she looked imploringly at him, he also remembered that his mother had said to make friends, because that is what school's about, sweetie.

"Ned."

She had laughed. She had thought that this was quite the funniest name that she had ever heard, but she had realized that he hadn't been joking.

"Oh," she had said, cocking her head to one side. She looked at him with all the innocence and honesty of a four-year-old and smiled.

"My name is Jennifer Moseley," she had announced, confidently. Her pigtails bobbed and her smile lit up across her face. The boy next to her, Ned, smiled nervously at her, but she didn't really notice.

Jennifer Moseley was a straightforward kind of girl. She had confidence points in great numbers, and if Ned hadn't been afraid of her, he would have told her that she kind of scared him.

* * *

questions? comments? other forms of feedback?

press the nifty little button below to share your thoughts. constructive criticism is nice if you can manage, but popping in for a review is fine and dandy as well.

faq:

this is a _ned's declassified school survival guide_ drabble series. it has a pairing, even if it doesn't show yet, and it is noze. for those of you that would rather not see this particular pairing, **take yourself elsewhere.** for those of you that do not know what a drabble is, prepare to be enlightened. a drabble is a short story in any particular fandom, and is usually from a prompt, like 100prompts or 64damnprompts, or the likes of that. they will be short drabbles, with the occasional longer oneshot if deemed necessary. a drabble series, like the one you'll find here, is a collection of drabbles. they do not often go in chronological order, and I can tell you now that this one won't.

thanks,

the management

_october song incorporated_


	2. 011 red

_Because you know part of you will die on June 8__th__, this is…_

a hundred ways to love

prompt no. 011:

red

Ned Bigby was twelve years old when he heard his best friend scream.

This was a genuine problem. Moze didn't scream at anything, she was better at watching gory doctor shows than he was. She was as tough as nails and never, ever got sick or fell down. And, if she did, it was always a laugh and a hop to the feet, not a scream and a thud as she fell to the ground.

So it was Ned, this time, who jumped to his feet. He slammed his knee against the coffee table as he got up from the couch. Wincing with a sharp stab of pain, he hopped on one foot out of the living room and down the hall, grabbing the banister as he hobbled up the stairs. This was not the best time for him to be hurt, he knew. His best friend—who never got hurt—was hurt, and he couldn't even gather enough of his completely-wimpy strength to go help her. What a good best friend _he_ was.

"Moze?" he said as he knocked on the white door. "You okay?"

He could imagine her clenching her teeth and biting her tongue as she answered. "Um…yeah, I guess."

"You sure, Moze? Need an ice pack or something?"

"No, Ned, I'm fine." Her voice was quiet, as if she were about to faint.

Ned Bigby would _not_ have his best friend faint, not on his watch. Or rather, his post at the bathroom door. Suddenly, he heard Moze scream slightly again.

"Moze?! Didja throw up or something? Want a toothbrush? Tylenol? A Band-Aide?" Ned's voice was worried, frantic, and even more so, because he had no idea what was wrong with Moze, and she seemed perfectly content not to share whatever was wrong with him. He couldn't go get her mother; that was exactly why Moze was here, sick in his bathroom. Her parents had gone on a trip to Hawaii for a week, leaving Moze behind to stay with the Bigbys. So while there was no mother to fetch, Ned had to wait, slumped outside the doorway, until the week was up and Mrs. Moseley got home. Or he could force Moze to tell him what was wrong.

"Hey, Moze. Didja faint or something? Are you _sure_ you don't need anything? You can tell me what's wrong, you know, I mean, if you have the flu, I can leave you alone and you can just make yourself some soup or something…"

He heard Moze, as sick as she was, sigh. "No, really, Ned, I'm…I'm okay. Go back and watch some TV or something."

"What's _wrong?_"

Moze laughed nervously. "N-nothing, Ned." He heard her mumble under her breath, "And you wouldn't understand, anyway."

The brown-haird boy huffed. "I heard that, Moseley. I understand a lot of stuff."

"Not this, I promise. Um, Ned?"

He nodded, and waited for her response. "Oh, uh, yeah, Moze?"

Jennifer Moseley's voice was squeaky. "Could you get your mom? I mean, like, is she still here? She didn't leave yet, right?" Her voice was nervous, high, and squeaked over syllables as her words mashed together.

Ned raised an eyebrow, perfectly aware she couldn't see him. "Yeah, Moze, whatever you want, I guess…"

He trotted down the stairs and into the kitchen, his knee still somewhat sore.

"Hey, Mom?" he asked, looking at his mother bent over, looking at something under the sink.

"Hmmm? Oh, what do you need, Ned?"

"Moze needs you, she's upstairs in the bathroom." He shrugged. She must be pretty darn sick to need his mother, unless she threw up all over herself and needed a shirt or something.

But as Ned shrugged, a flicker of recognition flashed across his mother's face. She brushed her hands on her jeans and put the sink spray down on the counter, walking up the stairs. Ned trailed behind her, following her back to the door, where his mother sent him a pointed glance and told him to go back downstairs. He sauntered off, back down the stairs, only to come back up when his mother closed the knocked on the door.

"Jennifer, honey, are you alright?"

Moze made an unidentifiable squeaking noise.

"Can I come in, sweetie?"

"Uh huh."

Mrs. Bigby slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Ned, from his hiding place on the stairs, turned his ear to listen.

He heard an even stranger sound than Moze screaming.

Moze crying.

Jennifer Moseley, his tough-as-nails, sports-loving best friend, was crying. Bawling, really. She was the weeping in the weeping willow, in Ned's opinion.

Mrs. Bigby was speaking, "Aw, Jennifer, it's okay, you'll be fine. You can call your mother if you want; I'm sorry that it happened here. And with Ned hounding you, of all people. I have some things in my bathroom I can get you, and some Tylenol, if you want."

Moze laughed nervously. "I thought I was dying."

Mrs. Bigby laughed as well. "Well, you won't die, you might be a bit sore, though. You can take a bubble bath, if you want, it makes me feel better sometimes. I know you should be talking about this to your own mother, sweetie, but, right now, I'm all you've got. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Mrs. Bigby. I think I'll be fine. I think I need…a change of clothes, though."

"Sure, Jennifer, are they in your bag? I'll get you some sweatpants or something, okay?"

Moze heaved a dry sob. "Thanks, Mrs. Bigby."

"Oh, not a problem, honey. You know you can talk to me about anything, I'm sure."

Unexpectedly, Ned's mother opened the door, and he ducked his head down. She bustled off to her room, and came back with some of Moze's clothes, a box, and a bottle of Tylenol.

"Thanks again, Mrs. Bigby." She sighed. Mrs. Bigby came back out, walked back to her room, and Ned heard her dialing the telephone. He took this as his escape route, turning on the TV to some weird cartoon as Moze came down the stairs.

"You okay, Moze?" he asked, still unsure of what had happened.

"Yeah, Ned. I'm _really_ okay now. No more fainting." She smiled, her face red from crying.

"That's good, Moze."

And Moze knew that, while Ned was still her best friend, there would always be a problem with that. He would always be a _guy_, and so, as much of a tomboy as Moze was, there would always be a difference. She hadn't really realized it until then, but she knew just how clueless Ned could sometimes be.

questions? comments? other forms of feedback?

press the nifty little button below to share your thoughts. constructive criticism is nice if you can manage, but popping in for a review is fine and dandy as well.

faq:

poor moze. stupid ned.

setting is about grade six-ish. so before the show actually aired. sorry for this seemingly-sequential junk, it's clouding up my drabble series image.

and sorry that this one was kind of...blah. i'm terrible at dialogue.

didn't exactly mention what the one-shot was about, but I'm sure that all the readers with excellent deduction skillz can figure this one out. (the prompt title was 'red'. sorry if it's an uncomfortable topic, ya'll.)

and I'm also sorry that the ending fell apart. oops. kind of ruined it, at the end, but I couldn't think of anything else at all, so this is what you're stuck with. sorries.

thanks,

the management

_october song incorporated_


	3. 096 writer's choice

_**CLARIFICATION, AS POINTED OUT AS NECESSARY BY **_nedandmozeluvr

_**THIS CHAPTER CONSISTS OF 32 ONE-SENTENCE STAND-ALONES. THERE IS NO PLOT. THE POINT OF A "SENTENCE PROMPT" IS TO WRITE ONE SENTENCE FROM A ONE-WORD PROMPT, AND GIVE IT SOME DEPTH, ET CETERA. EACH PROMPT DETAILS ONLY ONE SENTENCE, AND I GUESS THAT I NAïVELY ASSUMED ALL OF YOU KNEW WHAT ONE-SENTENCE-ERS WERE. **_

_**STILL CONFUSED? SEND ME A NOTE WITH QUESTIONS. I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER, AS THIS IS MY ENTIRE FAULT. **_

_**JOSEPHINE **_

_Because __**Ned's Declassified**__ has some awesome and terribly-missed Old Skool Nick humor, this is…_

a hundred ways to love

prompt no. 96:

_writer's choice; sentence claims_

**01. 2 a.m. **

Although neither knew it, both Ned and Moze had suddenly become insomniacs and stayed up all night, unable to get the image of the other out of their heads.

**02. Metaphor**

Ned was not a romantic, but he sincerely tried. "You are…a flower." When Moze had raised her eyebrow, Ned had decided that symbolism didn't work. "You're beautiful."

**03. Sky**

They sat together, Moze's head on Ned's shoulder, looking up at the moon.

**04. Lost scene**

Their kiss on the bus had meant nothing to them, even if it was a lie. But to those on the bus, watching them, the scene was not lost.

**05. Degrees**

Summer was simply warm compared to him.

**06. Seize the day**

Jennifer Moseley took what she wanted, and stole if she had to. In this case, she didn't really want to give the kiss back.

**07. Opposite**

It had taken them all to long to realize that they were different, but that it was good.

**08. Passions run**

Ned's blood was coursing, and his heart pounded in his ears. Some day, he would tell her how he felt.

**09. Connection**

Even the smallest touch of the fingertips sent sparks, and both weren't sure how to handle it.

**10. Lull and storm**

He knew that something was wrong in his best friend's life, even before she had needed him to hold her.

**11. Animal**

In every man, there is an instinct, one that all animals have. But sometimes men, unlike their animal counterparts, are too stupid to realize what they feel.

**12. Children**

"When I grow up, I want to have ten kids!"

Ned had stuck his tongue out. "_Why?_"

**13. We all float on**

When Suzie had come back, Moze knew that a fire would be rekindled between her two best friends, so she detached herself, and seemingly floated away.

**14. Chess**

"It's like in _Harry Potter_," Moze said. "They got to pretend to be the chess pieces. But Ron, he was the knight, and he got _smushed._ Good luck, Ned!"

**15. Duty**

As her best friend, he was supposed to hold her when she needed, and give a shoulder to cry on when she needed to cry.

**16. Rip**

There was a tear in her heart, a line between _best friend_ and _boyfriend_, and she wasn't sure if the same person could fill both spaces.

**17. Missing time**

If they hadn't been so _stupid_, they would have been able to be together from the start.

**18. Crest**

She wore her heart like a crest on her shirt, and was broken when someone managed to rip the pieces up.

**19. Itch**

Poison ivy came from lying down in the woods, but of course, at the time, Ned had not known about the plant. He had known, even then, as a small boy, that when he couldn't reach his back, Moze would always be there to help him.

**20. Explode**

He was an old man, and he thought that his heart was strong and tough, as he had seen much in life. But when he had found her, cold in their bed, he felt the blood course through his veins and his heart throb, only this time, there was no one to kiss back.

**21. Rise**

When she had finally rose to the occasion, there was someone there to stop her.

**22. Crumble**

She thought she was lost—this _couldn't_ be happening—but, with his arms around her, she felt like she was where she needed to be.

**23. Range**

She could do anything, from volleyball to basketball and everything in between, but feelings were a different matter.

**24. Fight/flight**

She had fought with Seth, again, and had run away this time, into open arms.

**25. Acid**

She glared at him, it was all _his_ fault.

**26. Color**

Was that a _blush_ he saw?

**27. Give**

She was used to having her heart broken, so she didn't give it easily.

**28. Needle**

He was sometimes a sharp pain in her side, but he did more good than harm.

**29. Locks**

"Don't worry," he said, gently touching her chest. "Your heart is safe with me."

**30. Slope**

It was always an uphill battle.

**31. Correspondence**

In a manner of glances, glares, smiles and frowns, they had made up their own language.

**32. Linger**

His face lingered over hers for a moment too long, and she took a chance.


	4. 096 writer's choice part II

_Because you watched the second showing of __**Field Trip**__, just to see the alternate ending, this is…_

a hundred ways to love

prompt no. 96:

_writer's choice; sentence claims_

**33. Charm**

"Really, I'm surprised that you hadn't fallen for my good looks and charm long before now," he had said. She had glared.

**34. Roads**

No matter where she went, or what she tried to do to get away, her heart always led her back.

**35. Hunger**

And, suddenly, there was a new kind of passion.

**36. Reciprocity**

She knew she was safe as long as she had him to depend on.

**37. Kind**

They had been best friends too long to really do the usual carry-your-books thing.

**38. Fruity**

Lying on his chest, she kissed him on the lips and smiled. "Aren't you a little too old for Froot Loops?"

**39. Half-life**

When he wasn't there, as corny as she knew it to be, she felt incomplete.

**40. Comedy of errors**

Because they were _best friends_, she laughed when he fell.

**41. Tragedy**

Moze did not want to believe that Ned really went back to Suzie as fast as he did.

**42. Hope is the thing with feathers**

"Sometimes," she had wished, when she was very small. "I think we should fly away together and never come back."

**43. Empire**

She had the beauty and confidence to command thousands.

**44. Turpentine kisses and mistaken blows**

She hadn't known what effect being silent would have on him, and she certainly didn't mean to hurt him.

**45. Rings**

He gave her a 25-cent ring from a machine, and she knew that there was some kind of vague memory behind this.

**46. Dust**

"If I had gone blind with that dirt in my eyes, you would have felt sorry."

**47. Every you, every me**

She had never noticed how close they were, until she realized that she and Ned were basically the same person.

**48. Project**

School projects were never as fun when they weren't together.

**49. Adore**

He never realized how much she loved him until she said it.

**50. Murmur**

With his face buried in her neck, he whispered serious things and silly things, his lips touching her pale skin, until it all blended together into three simple words.

**51. Above**

She had never really realized when he had gotten taller than she was.

**52. Below**

"Too far," she scolded.

**53. Incalculable**

He had tried to reason, for Ned was one who liked logic, how much he really loved her. He had been trying since he was five years old, and he still didn't have an answer.

**54. Wire**

Tripping over a wire and falling on your knees is much more fun with someone soft to land on.

**55. Landslide**

Her heart knew she was falling long before her head did.

**56. The beginning is the end is the beginning**

It was a new section in the guide, and the end to an era of friendship, opening the door to something more.

**57. Door**

When one door had closed, it nearly took them too long to realize the other one had opened.

**58. Enemy gate**

Glaring at Faymen, Ned knew that they could never _really_ be best friends.

**59. Stone**

When they were young, they had, in little-child scrawl, written their names in the sand of a beach. It washed away, later to be set in stone.

**60. Bright**

He had never known a brighter light in the world than her smile.

**61. Stories**

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful and talented princess who fell in love with, not a prince, but something even better; her best friend.

**62. Chime**

Ringing out clear as a bell, Ned's voice told her again and again that he loved her.

**63. Laugh**

For was there anything more beautiful than the sound of Moze's laughter?

**64. Hold**

Hand in hand, they could never fall.

questions? comments? other forms of feedback?

press the nifty little button below to share your thoughts. constructive criticism is nice if you can manage, but popping in for a review is fine and dandy as well.

faq:

thirty-two one-sentence "claims", using the prompts from 64damnprompts.

I hope you readers aren't still completely confused. it's a bit hard to explain, but I see that some of you got it, and that's just bad planning on my part.

I liked _field trip._ yay!

like all drabbles, these are _not_ meant to go together. none of them flow into the other, they are all a separate entity.

I think I like the second set more than the first. because I am a hopeless romantic, these are my favorites: 34, 42, 50, 61.

thanks,

the management

_october song incorporated_


End file.
